Crossword Genius

Country song about American hotel, essentially (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

austria

'country' is the definition.
(I know that Austria is a European country)

'song about american hotel essentially' is the wordplay.
'song' becomes 'aria' (aria is a kind of song).
'about' indicates putting letters inside.
'american' becomes 'us' (abbreviation for United States).
'essentially' indicates the central letters.
The middle of 'hotel' is 't'.
'us'+'t'='ust'
'aria' placed around 'ust' is 'AUSTRIA'.

(Other definitions for austria that I've seen before include "The capital is Vienna (7)" , "Central European country" , "EU country" , "USA art I send to European state" , "Central European republic" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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