You can certainly feel the cooling when you place your head. After about a month, the pillow still stinks. I've tried airing it out. I think eventually the smell will go away, but taking longer than anticipated.
Great product! We replaced 13 year old tempurpedic pillows with new dual cloud medium-firm pillows and what a difference a decade makes. My neck feels absolutely fantastic. The old pillows had gotten somewhat hard and served their purpose with much use. They, like their user, had gotten old, but were great for many years. That is the reason we bought Tempurpedic again. We are glad we did.
I do like my pillow very much but wish it was a little softer. I had one before that seemed not so firm. But I do enjoy sleeping on it. It supports my head well and I do sleep good at night now.