Alcove hidden at first in French resort (5)
I believe the answer is:
niche
'alcove' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'hidden at first in french resort' is the wordplay.
'at first' suggests taking the first letters.
'in' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'french resort' becomes 'nice' (French coastal resort).
The first letter of 'hidden' is 'h'.
'h' going within 'nice' is 'NICHE'.
(Other definitions for niche that I've seen before include "Well-suited position" , "Shallow recess in a wall" , "Chine (anag) - suitable place in life" , "Cosy spot" , "Nook, cranny" .)