Basic hotel, although right on the beach and central for negombo. Unfortunately, noisy music from bars into the night. Lacked a homely feel.

After reading reviews I booked 2 nights at The Pearl to start off my 2 week trip in Sri Lanka.
I am so pleased I did. One of my party missed their flight and there was no problem with postponing their air port collection. Mine also arrived promptly which was great as I was a lone female in a new country and having a taxi when I arrived made me feel really secure.
I was given a drink when I arrived, even though it was 4am and was checked into my room with no problems at all.
The room was clean, pleasant and functional. Not luxurious, but if that is what I wanted I would have paid more than the great price I did pay. It is right on the beach - you can swim in the sea, but maybe better for a walk or soaking up some sun. There are plenty of shops within easy walking distance to get a drink, ice cream and a few gifts for home.
Andrea could not have been more helpful during my stay. Stay in this place.

There is a great place just along the main road called Mariyan's Beauty salon between Goldi Sand and Seashall Hotel Beach Hotel. She is a lovely lady who does Ayurveda Treatments, hair cuts, manicures etc who is really worth a visit as well.

We spent one night there since we had a super early flight in the morning. There are many good to great things about the Pearl but the rooms are very basic. The location is great. It is right on the beach and there are many shops and restaurants nearby. We tried to eat at the Swiss restaurant across the street but the service was painful slow. We walked down to King Coconut and had the same result. Went to the Italian restaurant on the same block and had great food and great service. The Pearl is about 20 minutes away from the airport. During the drive I didn't see any other hotels that looked like a better choice. The Pearl is not a tremendous value since it is right on the beach. Our room was very clean but extremely basic. For us it was a great choice as an airport stopover. I'm not sure I would recommend it as a place to spend more than one night. Service was very good.

As regular visitors to the beautiful country of Sri Lanka, we were looking for a stopover hotel so as to avoid the early morning dash from Colombo to the airport. As we have done so many time in the past, we turned to Tripadvisor for guidance. The Pearl seemed to have an overwhelming number of great reviews and knowing Tripadvisor to be a trusted source we chose this hotel... I can now only assume that these reviews are bogus as this is quite possibly one of the worst hotels I have ever stayed at. The rooms are filthy, the staff unaccommodating, and overpriced doesn't even come close to describing the buyer's remorse I felt. Sorry Tripadvisor you've lost me. Anyone looking for a airport stopover hotel in Sri Lanka, do yourself a favor stay in Colombo!