The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 letter word YALTA
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
Y
A
L
T
A
More clues leading to the result YALTA
- Yankee area accommodating key conference centre once
- Year on island, topless resort
- . Conference venue at place that’s elevated
- A river rising to consume lake in Crimean resort
- Just starting, you ask likely travellers about Black Sea resort
- Yen used for money in island resort holding wartime conference
- Location for war meeting that’s close to consecration point after extremists disappear
- Yen for maiden in island port
- A lot of university volunteers noted conference site
- Agent on vacation was resting back in Crimean resort
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "conference centre once" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case conference centre once = yalta.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.