Spike's hotel in Split (5)
I believe the answer is:
thorn
'spike's' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'hotel in split' is the wordplay.
'hotel' becomes 'h' (phonetic alphabet: alpha, bravo, charlie etc.).
'in' is an insertion indicator.
'split' becomes 'torn' (I've seen this in other clues).
'h' inserted into 'torn' is 'THORN'.
(Other definitions for thorn that I've seen before include "tip of R [ROSE]" , "A vegetable spike" , "Sharp point on, eg, rose" , "Spine - prickle - Old English runic letter" , "Cause of grief" .)