As soon as John entered the hotel lobby

[Bassim]

I am wondering if my sentence sounds natural.

As soon as John entered the hotel lobby, he was put off by the putrid smell wafting from the inside.

 

[jutfrank]

Without more context, put off doesn't sound right. We usually use this to mean 'dissuaded or discouraged from doing something'.

Also, from the inside of what?

 

[Bassim]

jutfrank,

I have used "put off" meaning exactly what you mention in your post. He was dissuaded from entering by the putrid smell.

Would my sentence be OK like this:

As soon as John entered the hotel lobby, he was put off by the putrid smell wafting from the inside of the hotel.

 

[jutfrank]

I think it could still be improved. It's still not completely clear what he was put off from. Continuing any further? And the repetition of hotel doesn't sound good.

 

[Bassim]

jutfrank,

I think it is clear that he was put off by the putrid smell.
Let me try the third time.
As soon as John entered the hotel lobby, he was put off by the putrid smell wafting from the inside of the building.

 

[jutfrank]

I meant that I wanted to know what he was put off from, not what he was put off by.

In your post #3, you say

I have used "put off" meaning exactly what you mention in your post. He was dissuaded from entering by the putrid smell.

If that is the case, then it doesn't make sense to say As soon as he entered...

 

[emsr2d2]

I don't think you need to elaborate much. If you said to me "When John entered the hotel lobby, he was disgusted by a/the putrid smell", it would be clear that the smell was only noticeable (at that point) in the lobby. It wouldn't be clear where it was coming from but we can assume he couldn't smell it from wherever he was directly before he entered the lobby. He could have come in from the street or from a different part of the hotel.

 

[Tdol]

You could say that he was driven out by the putrid smell.

 

[andrewg927]

I think the OP is okay as long as you remove "wafting from the inside". It's not a complete thought but it is grammatically correct.