Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful.
Bad design elements and concerned about mattress safety
By Gr82bGilder
I bought the playard to use as a bassinet and changing table for our infant son. We ran in to several problems or concerns that were not allayed after speaking with Joovy customer service. Let me start with the positives. The construction is very solid and secure. All frame parts seem to be more stable and secure than others on the market I have seen. The storage area has many cubbies and securely fastens to the base to hold a good amount of supply weight. The changing table is very solid. It basically locks in to place to create a rather large, flat work area that is not flimsy at all (Graco's are very flimsy and your baby will roll in to a side). One note of the changing table is that material is an easily cleanable plastic material. The only issue here is that once it gets wet in the slightest it turns in to an ice rink and your baby will slide all over unless you have some padding below. If you have newborn, the safety strap isn't really practical so you just need to be super careful until they are big enough to use the strap. And if you think "why would it get wet" then you haven't had a boy.Here are the bad items.1\ The mattress is horrible and we felt unsafe. There is a lot of extra material in the folds and when we placed our baby on the mattress, the material bunched up above his mouth. When he would turn his head he was basically smashed up in to the mattress without a clear breathing channel. This was the most concerning issue for us. The Graco has a padded mattress too but the material remains tight just like it would in a true baby crib. Our crib and Graco is our comparison to what a safe flat surface for sleeping should be. And the Joovy failed completely. I sent pictures of this to customer service. They took a picture of one they had as well showing me what was normal for the mattress and it was the same as mine. So I don't think we had a defective unit. I think it is just their standard product.2\ The Joovy comes with it's own special fitted sheet. The problem with the sheet is that when it is used in the bassinet position it covers the Joovy's velcro to secure the mattress to the base. When speaking with customer service on this, they at first were unsure about this but then when they tried it on their side they agreed that with the sheet in place, the model's own design to secure the mattress to the frame was compromised.3\ Fitted sheet use when we are not using the bassinet is very annoying too. Because of the soft design of the mattress (it has unusual, padded ridges), Joovy says you need to secure the sheet to the mattress using a series of velcro straps through special holes in the sheet (only if you buy the Joovy branded sheets though). It isn't really that difficult to thread the velcro through the sheet and secure to the bottom of the mattress. It takes about 2 minutes. My complaint here is that changing a Graco sheet takes about 15 seconds and requires no threading or skill. For parents out there, imagine the frustration of changing a sheet that requires threading, velco attaching, etc at 2am with a cranky baby that has just wet the sheets. Not fun. Bad design.All in all, I am disappointed with the execution of the design and especially the mattress safety issue. We ended up getting another Graco to replace this. Was also frustrated by Joovy's response that perhaps I would be happier with the regular Joovy model that doesn't have the bassinet, changing table, or storage bin features. Those are the reasons I bought the Joovy in the first place.
12 of 14 people found the following review helpful.
Top of the line!
By Clytemnestra G
I'm a mom of a middle schooler and we have a baby on the way. I also have 2 young step-kids. I consider myself experienced, practical and minimalist, though I do appreciate luxury! I have had an interesting time shopping for the new baby in this high-tech world of baby gear. (I gave away all my gear ages ago, not like any of it would be considered "safe" now!) Currently, I live in a house with multiple levels so I really wanted a versatile changing station for the main living floor. With my 10-y-o, I simply changed her on a coffee table in the corner. Now I'm 10 years older and much less inclined to kneel down constantly. I also wanted a bassinet and/or play yard for use in the same part of my home, and for travel. I was so glad to see that baby manufacturers have created so many interesting contraptions that meet all three needs!I was drawn to Joovy because it's the only such device I've seen that's not completely ugly! I'm turned off by pastels, TV characters, gendered colors, and beige on everything. I got this in black, and it looks surprisingly attractive. Too solid to be fancy camping gear, and too elegant to be sports gear. It's sort of got a european aesthetic, without emulating the ultramodern ($$$) European baby gadgets that have saturated the market. I also bought an Arm's Reach mini co-sleeper in black/toffee and it's fun that they coordinate as we are moving in a few months and I'll soon be using both items in my master suite.Assembly was a project! Several times I had to ask my husband to come squeeze parts together because they fit very securely in a few places. Assembly of the play yard was a piece of cake but the changing table attaches with infinite snaps and clamps. I will appreciate that later, I'm sure. I think it will be way too much of a pain to travel with it while it's in use as a bassinet or changer but as a play yard it is about as user friendly as the ancient Pack N Play I used years back.I am impressed with the numerous safety measures that went into the design. I'm not sure about is the bassinet mattress, however. It's the same one from the floor of the play yard, and it is a little on the soft side for a newborn. I'd love to hear others' opinions on this. My last baby slept on her belly which I know is considered forbidden by today's standards, but it was the only way she liked to sleep. This is not a good mattress for a newborn to sleep face-down on. That said, it'll be ok when baby can lift his head easily, and it's soft enough that baby might enjoy being on his back in it. (I hope so).I am not sure if I love the side organizer. I don't like that there's no flat space on the very top level for my wipes warmer. My warmer is large and doesn't have a secure spot anywhere on this thing. I'll probably end up placing a small table next to that side. I suspect Joovy intentionally didn't leave a flat space there as a precaution against parents placing items within baby's reach from inside the bassinet. The pockets on the top shelf hold lotions and other items more securely than a flat shelf would. The lower compartments are large enough for clothes, supplies, and cloth diapers to fit snugly. Because our play yard is going into a somewhat public space in our home, I prefer having things rather neatly tucked away.I haven't used the music/light feature yet, and I don't know if I ever will. I didn't even notice it when I was buying this item. I was amused that it plays music and hooks up to an MP3 player. Things have really changed in the last 10 years.Overall, I love this thing. I know it's a bit more expensive than other brands. But it's sooooo cool. And I have honestly never seen a more secure changing table in my life. The sizes of the changer, bassinet, and play yard are perfect. I like that it comes with a sheet, and that the sheet is well made, and safe. It doesn't come with a changing table cover, but I plan to use Carters Keep Me Dry Flannel Bassinet pads as an additional layer of mess protection. They are just the right size when the straps are open. If it becomes a hassle with the straps, I'll simply cut slots for the straps in the pads.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful.
Agree with other reviewer - bad mattress
By emwhist
This was the item on our registry we were most excited about, so it was truly disappointing when we finally set it up and decided that there was no way we were comfortable having our newborn sleep in it. We will be using a playard/pack-n-play in our bedroom for nighttime sleeping for at least the first few months, so we really wanted a safe, comfortable spot for baby to sleep. We weren't worried about price, because this was going to be the primary sleeping spot for our baby. We initially chose the Joovy room because it wasn't a tacky, plastic eyesore and the changing table seemed much more sturdy than any of the other options.The playard arrived and we managed to set it up pretty easily but immediately realized that the mattress was going to be a problem. As another reviewer pointed out, the mattress has HUGE wrinkles/folds and the padding was quite uneven. Playards/pack-n-plays are apparently very tightly regulated, so there aren't separate mattress options you can buy to put in instead (portacrib mattresses are a few inches too narrow, which wouldn't be safe at all). When we really looked at the mattress folds, we decided that there was no way we'd be comfortable putting our newborn to sleep in this thing and given how uneven the padding was, I doubt an older baby/toddler would be very comfortable either.I hope Joovy manages to improve the mattress quality for this playard because it's a well-executed product otherwise. As is, the mattress made this unusable for us and we sent it back.
See all 19 customer reviews...
It's a fine crib, but the changing table is very weak
Works great for Pack'n'Play & Portacrib
