Like Colleen, the girl at the hotel (5)
I believe the answer is:
irish
'like colleen' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both people as well as being singular nouns.
Perhaps they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'girl at the hotel' is the wordplay.
'girl' becomes 'iris' (girl's name).
'at' says to put letters next to each other.
'the hotel' becomes 'h' (phonetic alphabet: alpha, bravo, charlie etc.).
'iris'+'h'='IRISH'
'the' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for irish that I've seen before include "Joyce was" , "said to be lucky" , "Eg, native to Dublin" , "From Galway, say" , "Celtic language" .)