Tar ruins hotel in coastal area? (4,5)
I believe the answer is:
salt marsh
'coastal area?' is the definition.
(area by the coast)
'tar ruins hotel' is the wordplay.
'tar' becomes 'salt' (synonyms).
'ruins' becomes 'mars' (to mar is to ruin or spoil).
'hotel' becomes 'h' (phonetic alphabet).
'salt'+'mars'+'h'='SALT MARSH'
'in' is the link.
(Other definitions for salt marsh that I've seen before include "squishy territory?" , "area near the sea" , "grazing area" , "Boggy ground" , "regularly flooded area" .)