4

The Sands food hygiene rating

Hotel/bed & breakfast/guest house · Dorset

The Sands holds a 4, meaning hygiene standards at the hotel are good. It is a solid result, the inspector found nothing serious, though a 5 was just out of reach.

The rating: 4 - Good

The rating dates from 16 July 2018, more than 7 years ago. A lot can change in a kitchen in that time, and a rating this old says more about the business then than now. Councils prioritise re-inspecting higher-risk premises, so a long gap often means the business is considered low-risk.

How it compares in Dorset

In Dorset, 95% of rated places manage a 5, so The Sands sits behind roughly 3,808 nearby businesses. 3% of the borough shares its 4.

Every rated food business in Dorset
5 out of 5 3,808 95%
4 out of 5 139 3% ← The Sands
3 out of 5 33 1%
2 out of 5 5 <1%
1 out of 5 3 <1%
0 out of 5 0 0%

A further 1,119 businesses in the area are awaiting inspection or exempt, so are not counted above.

What the inspector found

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 Sands 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.

Questions about The Sands

What is The Sands's food hygiene rating?

The Sands has a food hygiene rating of 4 out of 5 (good), given by Dorset Council on 16 July 2018.

Is The Sands safe to eat at?

The rating covers hygiene standards found at inspection, not the food itself. At 4 out of 5, the inspector found hygiene standards at this hotel to be good, the top end of the scale.

When was The Sands last inspected?

The Sands was last inspected on 16 July 2018, more than 7 years ago. Food hygiene inspections are unannounced, and the rating is published by Dorset Council rather than by the business.

What did the inspector find at The Sands?

The inspector scored three areas. Hygienic food handling was rated "good", the cleanliness and condition of the building "good", and confidence in the management of food safety "generally satisfactory". Lower concern in all three is what earns a high overall rating.

How does The Sands compare to other places in Dorset?

95% of the 3,988 rated food businesses in Dorset hold the top rating of 5, while The Sands holds a 4. 139 places in the area share that rating.

Who decides the rating?

Dorset Council inspects The Sands and sets the rating; the Food Standards Agency publishes it. Neither the business nor this site can change a rating, a business that disagrees can appeal to its council, and can request a re-inspection once it has fixed the problems.

Tell me when this changes

The Food Standards Agency publishes only a business's rating today, not what it scored before, and not when it moves. We check every UK rating each night. Watch The Sands and we will email you the morning after its rating changes.

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Understanding this rating

More food hygiene ratings near here

Dorset inspects and rates 5,107 food businesses across its whole area. See every food hygiene rating in Dorset

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

Rating from the Food Standards Agency under the Open Government Licence. Ratings reflect standards found at the time of inspection and can change. If you think a rating is wrong, the official record is held by the FSA and the local authority; corrections there flow through here. How ratings work →