A party at the hotel, note (3)
I believe the answer is:
doh
'note' is the definition.
(alternative spelling of 'do' as in do re mi)
'a party at the hotel' is the wordplay.
'a party' becomes 'do' (do is a kind of party).
'at' says to put letters next to each other.
'the hotel' becomes 'h' (phonetic alphabet).
'do'+'h'='DOH'
(Other definitions for doh that I've seen before include "Homer Simpson's exasperated cry" , "First and eighth note in tonic sol-fa" , "acknowledgment of stupidity" , "Homeric grunt of annoyance" , "First note of musical scale" .)