Washed-up person in hotel area spotted drinking brandy, primarily (3-4)
I believe the answer is:
has-been
'washed-up person' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'hotel area spotted drinking brandy primarily' is the wordplay.
'hotel' becomes 'h' (phonetic alphabet: alpha, bravo, charlie etc.).
'area' becomes 'a' (maths abbreviation).
'spotted' becomes 'seen' (I've seen this before).
'drinking' indicates putting letters inside (inserted letters are consumed or drunk).
'primarily' suggests taking the first letters.
The initial letter of 'brandy' is 'b'.
'seen' going around 'b' is 'sbeen'.
'h'+'a'+'sbeen'='HAS-BEEN'
'in' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for has-been that I've seen before include "Banshee who has become a failure" , "One no longer important" , "Someone no longer of significance" , "Faded star?" , "Person no longer famous or successful" .)