Billionaire recluse Howard Hughes lived the last several years of his life in a Vancouver hotel, a fact that may go a long way to explaining his alleged insanity. Any business traveller knows it doesn't take long for the walls of a standard 200-square-foot hotel room to start closing in on your psyche.

If you're going to be away from home for more than the average 2.5 nights, you need more than just a bedroom: You need elbow room.

Just a few years ago, hotel suites were a hard sell for white-collar wanderers, remaining the preserve of only the highest-placed executives. But not any more. Today, the hospitality industry is wooing corporate roadrunners (and often, their families) with a spate of affordable new "condotels" and "all-suite" properties offering home-away-from-home amenities such as full kitchens, separate bedrooms and in-room washers and dryers. The suites are two or three times larger than traditional hotel rooms and often cost less per night, especially if rented for a longer business trip. In downtown Vancouver, for example, the average room rate last year was $150 a night; this summer, a one-bedroom suite at the Century Plaza Hotel & Spa will go for $903 a week, or $129 a night.

In Manhattan, where a stamp-size hotel room can cost upwards of $300 (U.S.) a night, a 450-square-foot suite at the new Embassy Suites Hotel New York City, opposite the World Trade Center, goes for a mere $229 (U.S.), if you stay for 14 consecutive nights. As with most extended-stay properties, rates often get better the longer you stay.

Long-stays vary widely in their services and amenities, so you're wise to think hard about just what you want in a home-away-from-home. Many properties provide only limited housekeeping and food services. Others offer everything from daily maid service, high-speed Internet access and extra phone lines, to recreation facilities, on-site restaurants, boardrooms, complimentary breakfasts and nightly cocktail receptions. Some require a minimum stay of several days, weeks or months. To illustrate the broad range of properties and services now available, we've looked around, and zeroed in on the sweetest suites in five key business destinations. A quick overview of what they offer follows...

STAYBRIDGE SUITES BY HOLIDAY INN
Markham, Ont. (800) 238-8000 http://www.staybridge.com

This month marks the Canadian debut of Holiday Inn's year-old Staybridge brand. The property's plain-but-practical studio, one- and two-bedroom suites feature kitchens with full-size appliances. And you'll want to stock that refrigerator: There are no on-site restaurants. The homey, earth-toned rooms are equipped with two phone lines and Internet access -- a plus for the dot-com crowd. Full maid service is limited to once a week.

Rates start at $130 a day, and decrease depending on length of stay.

EMBASSY SUITES HOTEL
New York (800) EMBASSY http://www.embassysuites.com

Opening this month, this upscale all-suite chain hotel is unique in high-powered Manhattan. Located in the heart of New York's Financial District, the hotel anchors a huge entertainment complex that includes shops, cinemas and a fitness club. Every two-room suite has a wet bar, minibar and microwave, three phone lines and two cable TVs; room service is available around the clock. The $229 (U.S.) rate (available if you stay 14 consecutive nights), which includes a complimentary full breakfast and an evening cocktail reception, is a steal by New York standards.

PACIFIC PALISADES HOTEL
Vancouver (604) 688-0461 http://www.pacificpalisadeshotel.com

e-mail: reservations@pacificpalisadeshotel.com

The granddaddy of Vancouver suite hotels, the Pacific Palisades was built in 1967 and for a long time had little competition for its 152 one-bedroom suites. When B.C.'s film industry took off in the 1980s, the hotel became a favourite of Tinseltown transients. Now, with suite hotels springing up like mushrooms in Vancouver, The Kimpton Group, which recently acquired the venerable Robson Street property, wants to make the hotel more appealing to its trendy clientele. Reopening this month with a knock-your-socks-off citrus-toned colour palette, the edgier Palisades will feature in-room spa treatments, "Liquid Picnic" wine and martini baskets, and 24-hour room service. At 580 square feet, the suites are larger than some new apartments being built in the city. The price: $300 a night, with a negotiable discount available after 14 nights.

SHANGRI-LA APARTMENTS
Singapore (65) 730 2635 http://www.shangri-la.com

e-mail: slsap798@singnet.com.sg

The Shangri-La Apartments share the tranquil grounds of the luxurious Shangri-La Hotel, just minutes from Singapore's main shopping and business districts. The elegant, full-service apartments are grand by Asian standards: from 635 square feet for a one-bedroom, to more than 1,200 square feet for a three-bedroom. Residents can enjoy the same superb facilities and services available to hotel guests, including restaurants, a health club, a pitch-and-putt green and a 24-hour business centre. Rates start at $6,362 a month, prorated if necessary, with a minimum one-week stay.

CITADINES APARTHOTEL
London (011) 44-171-543-7878 http://www.citadines.com

e-mail: orion@aol.com

The staff and décor of this property--part of the French-owned Citadines chain--are as gracious and elegant as its Georgian façade. The five-year-old apartment-hotel is conveniently located in South Kensington, just minutes from the Gloucester Road tube station. The 92 studio and one-bedroom suites are beautifully appointed. The kitchens and bathrooms are large and well outfitted. Rates start at $235 a night; discounts with a stay of seven nights. Additional services, such as housekeeping and laundry, the use of office equipment and parking, are billed à la carte.