The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 7 plus 1 letter word XANADU} –
X
A
N
A
D
U
}
â
€
“
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "site of summer retreat" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case site of summer retreat = xanadu} –.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.