I can highly recommend this hotel. The location is great, the staff are very friendly and helpful. The booked double room was surprisingly large, as was the bathroom. And wasn't so expensive like in total Dubai.

one of the best around, centre location everything close, good for all types

We had some issues with our Visas when we arrived in UAE but this hotel helped make up for our bad experience by giving us exceptional customer service while we were there and making us feel like we were very valued guests. As far as the price goes it is hard to know if it is worth it as ours was a 3 week package through a travel agent so she may have had something to do with our possible special treatment (a cake for New Years as we were there for that)
Our room was a bit dated but for the few days we were there it was nice to have the little kitchen and 2nd bathroom as it is more of a suite than a hotel room (separate bedroom, living room area plus kitchen).
Location was nice as it was a short walk to a large shopping centre.
You have to remember that Dubai is extremely expensive city so we were prepared to have a less fancy room due to the expensive country in general. For a few nights it was great for what little time we spent there and met our needs quite well.

The Pearl was listed in the Emirates handbook as Three Stars (as I can't find the little handbook I cannot confirm this - it possibly could have been a 2 star). The transfer service to the Pearl was in a small bus type and was good.
We were greeted warmly at the Pearl, and shown to our dated one bedroom apartment. Kitchen, Dining and Lounge, and a comfortable queen size bed. The bathroom was a shiny marble one, shower over the bath, and there was also a seperate toilet elsewhere in the apartment. There was no washing machine, something that we thought would be included.
The kitchen was not well equipped, and so we didn't use the facilities much We were disappointed with the apartment overall, I think comparably to Australia it was a 2 star! After our first night there we warmed to the place, it was all we needed it to be, though it was the standard wasn't what we expected.
The Pearl is close to some small supermarkets, about a large block away from the underground air-conditioned train service. A large shopping mall, the BurJuman, is also a block away.
As another comment suggested, pay a little extra and get something that is a little classier and up-to-date.