Crossword Genius

In a way, one meets rest in a place which is without hotel (2,2,4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

as it were

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'in a way one meets rest in a place which is without hotel' is the definition.
'as it were' can be an answer for 'in a way' (I've seen this in another clue). I am not sure about the remainder of the definition.

'in a way one meets rest' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'a' is found in the answer.
'way' could be 'w' (Compass direction - West) and 'w' is present in the answer.
'one' could be 'i' (Roman numeral) and 'i' is present in the answer.
an anagram of 'rest' is 'ster' which is within the left over letters.
A single letter 'e' remains which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for as it were that I've seen before include "you may say" , "In sort of" , "In a manner of speaking" , "Just like if really so" , "As if it was actually so" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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