The Hostel at Alston food hygiene rating

The rating: 4 - Good

The rating dates from 28 March 2025, 15 months ago. Councils typically re-inspect higher-risk businesses every six months to two years, with well-run, low-risk places visited least often, so this is a normal gap.

Address: The Firs, Alston, CA9 3RW

How it compares in Westmorland and Furness

In Westmorland and Furness, 86% of rated places manage a 5, so The Hostel at Alston sits behind roughly 2,390 nearby businesses. 10% of the borough shares its 4.

Every rated food business in Westmorland and Furness

5 out of 5		2,390	86%
4 out of 5		269	10%	← The Hostel at Alston
3 out of 5		86	3%
2 out of 5		17	1%
1 out of 5		9	<1%
0 out of 5		0	0%

A further 387 businesses in the area are awaiting inspection or exempt, so are not counted above.

What the inspector found

• Hygienic food handling Good
• Cleanliness & condition of the building Generally satisfactory
• How well they manage food safety Very good

An inspection scores three things: how food is handled, the physical condition of the premises, and how much the inspector trusts management to keep standards up. At The Hostel at Alston none of the three raised a concern, the overall rating is only ever as strong as its weakest area, so a clean sweep is what produces a high score.

Understanding this rating

• What does a 0 food hygiene rating mean? A 0 means the inspector found serious problems and urgent improvement is necessary. It is the lowest rating the scheme gives, but it is not a closure order, and a business with a 0 can, and usually does, keep trading while it puts things right.
• Does a low hygiene rating mean the food is unsafe? A low rating tells you that an inspector found problems on a particular day. It is not a measurement of the food, it is not a prediction, and it is not a verdict on whether you will get ill. It is the best single signal a member of the public has, and it is a snapshot.
• Does a business have to display its hygiene rating? It depends where you are. In Wales and Northern Ireland a food business must display its rating where you can read it before you go in. In England it is voluntary, a business there can legally show you nothing.

More food hygiene ratings near here

The Hostel at Alston is one of 32 rated food businesses in Alston. See every hygiene rating in Alston →

Westmorland and Furness inspects and rates 3,158 food businesses across its whole area. See every food hygiene rating in Westmorland and Furness →

The official record is held by the council: https://www.westmorlandandfurness.gov.uk/