Bath, possibly, initially smelling pretty awful (3)
I believe the answer is:
spa
'bath' is the definition.
(I know that spa is a type of bath)
'initially smelling pretty awful' is the wordplay.
'initially' says to take the initial letters.
The initial letters of 'smelling pretty awful' is 'SPA'.
'possibly' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for spa that I've seen before include "Curative resort" , "Hydromassage facility" , "Water-cure town" , "place of treatment" , "Watering place" .)