Dreamland Café Collection Heated Throw review: “Everyone in the family argues over who gets to use this throw, even the cats”

RRP at time of testing: £110 | Buy now from Dreamland

My verdict

I live in a fairly old cottage which can get chilly in the colder months. It’s not particularly well insulated and instead of central heating we have electric, oil-filled radiators. So, instead of putting the heating on, I’m always looking for ways to stay warm that don’t include wearing every item of clothing I own like Joey in FRIENDS.

Thankfully, the Dreamland Café Collection Heated Throw is a stylish, low-cost way of keeping the cold away, and as a total heated throw newbie who had no idea what the best heated throw would be, I think this is a pretty strong contender.

I tested the ‘Vanilla Latte’ throw, which was a creamy beige shade. I liked that it looked nice even against the dark green of my sofa and it was neutral enough that it would work in pretty much any space in my house.

It was also incredibly soft, to the point the whole family (cats included) would fight over who got to use it. The cats often won.

The fact it was machine washable was a huge plus for me. With a five-year-old and an 18-month-old in the house (plus the aforementioned cats), nothing ever stays clean. It was great that this could be popped in the washing machine and also that it could be tumble dried - although the drying wasn’t quite as straightforward.

I discovered during testing that you can’t fully dry the throw in the tumble dryer; it needs to finish air drying. This was a bit of a disappointment because it’s quite large and my house is not. In the winter months (when you’re more likely to be using a heated throw), drying things outside can be hard, but getting something this big dry indoors is definitely a challenge without a heated airer or large radiator.

The cable is quite long, but even so, you do have to consider where you’ll plug it in when you’re using it. We actually don’t have a plug socket very close to the sofa, so needed to use an extension lead to make sure we could use this comfortably without having a wire trailing across the living room floor.

I had never used a heated throw before and didn’t really know what to expect, but this surpassed my expectations. It’s become something I reach for most days, and when the kids aren’t fighting me for it, I take it off to my garden office and stay cosy without putting on the heating in there, either.

At 120 x 160cm it was a great size for multiple family members to snuggle under, and I was impressed with how big it was. While there are cheaper heated throws on the market, this one felt like you were getting a lot for your money and the quality was great too.

What’s in the box? 

In the bag there’s the Dreamland Café Collection heated throw, the instruction manual and the cable with the controller attached.

How easy is the Dreamland Café Collection Heated Throw to set up and use?

To get the throw working, all you have to do is plug the cable into it and then select your chosen setting on the attached controller. There are six heat settings and three timer settings so you can choose how warm you want to be and for how long.

That’s pretty much it - away you go. It all felt very simple to use.

This was my first foray into the world of heated throws, so I used my hands to feel where the throw was heating up. Apparently this is not how you know - the instructions explicitly tell you: ‘to judge the temperature accurately, lie on your sofa with the throw draped over you. Do not rely on a hand placed on the throw.’ So that’s me told.

Although the instructions were simple, I found myself having to look up a few things online because they weren’t included in the manual; things like what the Dreamland Intelliheat+® technology actually is and how that works while you’re using the throw. I think a mention of this in the instructions would have been handy.

I also had to look up how long the ‘fast pre-heat’ mode took to warm the throw up. On the Dreamland website it states that the throw warms up in five minutes, but there’s no mention of this in the manual.

How well does the Dreamland Café Collection Heated Throw work?

Dreamland claims that the throw heats up in five minutes, and I’d say that’s pretty accurate. If you set it to the highest number (six) on the controller, then within just a few seconds you can feel the throw getting warm.

The throw is quite big at 120 x 160cm and I found that the heat didn’t quite stretch to the corners, being more centred around where the heating elements inside were. I couldn’t tell whether that was intentional or simply how the elements were laid out.

On lower heat settings the warmth was more subtle but still effective, and I found that once the throw was switched off it didn’t immediately cool down so it kept me cosy for longer.

At 150W, it would cost around 4p per hour if it ran at full power on a 27p/kWh electricity tariff, and I think it gave off a decent amount of warmth for a very small price.

Overall, I was impressed with the performance and felt the warmth it offered really did make a difference to my comfort, without me ever feeling like I was getting too warm.

The heated throw is easy to set up and use.

What’s the quality of the Dreamland Café Collection Heated Throw like?

This throw is made of 100% polyester, which, if I was buying a new dress, would ring alarm bells (hello sweat!), but for a heated throw apparently this is the norm.

The throw felt very plush and soft and looked well made - there were no loose threads or bare patches. The material also didn’t transfer onto me or my clothes, which sometimes happens with other throws in my house.

I thought the colour of this throw was lovely - it’s part of Dreamland’s new Café Collection range and there are three heated throws to choose from in different coffee shades. The one I tested was ‘vanilla latte’ which was a soft golden beige and I think would look stylish in most homes and colour schemes.

What is the Dreamland Intelliheat+® technology and how does it work?

As mentioned above, the packaging for this heated throw tells you that it has ‘Dreamland Intelliheat+® technology.’ The controller that comes with the throw tells you that it has it. But…what is it? The instruction manual makes no reference to it, so I went searching for answers.

In the end, I found a description of Intelliheat in the FAQs on Dreamland’s website, although it talks about a bed blanket rather than this throw: ‘the Intelliheat technology within the blanket monitors the body temperature of the occupier, along with the ambient temperature of the room to keep the bed at your chosen temperature setting on the control. The blanket's heating element continually monitors all this while you sleep.’

This all sounds very clever, but I’d like the manual to explain exactly how it works on this throw so I can factor that in when setting the temperature. Also, if you’re sharing the blanket with someone else then I’m not sure how the Intelliheat+® works.

While I might not completely understand how exactly it works, I did find the throw pretty good at keeping me warm without me overheating, or having to constantly adjust the temperature, so maybe it’s just one of those things I have to accept without fully understanding (like phonics at school. Anyone else totally lost?!)

The whole family (cats included) would fight over who got to use it.

Value for money: is the Dreamland Café Collection Heated Throw worth the price tag?

The RRP for this heated throw is £110, which is expensive compared with some others on the market.

The quality does feel great though and it has a lot of different settings and options that some of the lower-budget throws don’t have. 

Its maximum power is 150W, which works out at around 4p an hour if it runs at full power on a 27p/kWh electricity tariff. Actual costs will depend on the heat setting and your tariff. So, although the upfront cost is quite a lot, if you’re using it every day instead of putting the heating on, then I think it’s a worthwhile investment.

I found that even after the throw had switched off, it stayed warm for a while, so although it wasn’t costing me anything to run, it was still keeping me warm.

The throw felt very luxurious and deserving of its more premium price tag.

The Dreamland Café Collection Heated Throw is machine washable.

How well does the Dreamland Café Collection Heated Throw wash?

One of the great things about this throw is that it’s machine washable and can go in the tumble dryer too - an absolute win when you’ve got kids and pets around.

I was interested to see if the throw felt as luxurious and soft after it had been washed.

The instructions tell you to use a delicate cycle to wash the throw at 30°C. On my washing machine it’s a 35-minute cycle and a maximum 2kg load - so I did wonder if once the throw was wet whether it would struggle to spin.

It was actually fine - but when I got it out of the washing machine to put into the tumble dryer (also on a delicate setting) it was dripping wet, so I did wonder how much the tumble dryer would be able to assist in getting it dry.

I double-checked the instructions and they stated: ‘at the end of the drying cycle it must be air-dried to allow it to dry completely.’

Ah. So although it is able to be tumble dried, you can’t use it to fully dry the throw.

Once the delicate cycle on my dryer had finished the throw was still pretty soggy, so I reshaped it and hung it out on my washing line instead. It wasn’t an especially sunny day so it took most of the day to finally get dry. Perhaps next time I’ll try with a heated airer to see if that speeds things along.

When it was dry though, I can confirm that it was just as plush as before it was washed.

Dreamland Café Collection Heated Throw vs Dreamland Hygge Days Heated Throw vs Morphy Richards EverCosy Heated Throw

Final verdict: is the Dreamland Café Collection Heated Throw worth it?

Before owning a heated throw, I never really understood the hype around them, but now I get it.

They’re a brilliant way to keep cosy on cold days; they’re cheap to run, easy to use and soft too.

I think the Dreamland Café Collection heated throw is great value for money. Yes, it’s pricier than some others on the market but it feels premium, looks stylish and is really effective at heating up and staying warm. Plus, it’s a really good size for family life if you are forced to share it.

This has already become a household staple for us and I’m looking forward to using it more as the weather gets colder. Dreamland says the lower settings can be used overnight, but I’ll be keeping this one on the sofa. Once it’s on the bed, that’s game over for us: both kids will want to sleep in our bed, and nobody will want to get up for school in the morning…

About the tester and author

Charlie Bond is a freelance journalist and a mum of two (slightly wild) boys. As a lifestyle and shopping editor, she’s got more than 15 years’ experience testing everything from family holiday hotspots to mum-friendly makeup.

She’s always on the lookout for the best products to make parents’ lives easier, whether that’s a super-duper coffee machine (she’s usually had three espressos by the morning school run) or a cleaning solution that really does get pen off the walls...