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Airport hotels are rarely happy places, so experts recommend sticking to budget accommodations and saving your money for your final destination, whether that be Ecuador or U.S. federal court, in this particular case.

When ex-security contractor and world-famous government secrets leaker Edward Snowden left Hong Kong yesterday he wasn’t headed to a free country that defends press freedoms. He was transiting, instead, in a country whose leader is currently embroiled in a mini-scandal about how he stole a Super Bowl ring.

Politics aside, Snowden left what was a nice hotel in Hong Kong and crashed in a hotel on the grounds of Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport until his flight to Havana was ready to depart (see details from Google Flights, below). From Havana he is expected to travel to Ecuador.

Like others stuck at airport hotels against their will — either because of delays or an unlucky work schedules — Snowden was forced to live with the hand he was dealt.

The Vozdushny Express “Capsule” hotel has one-person rooms with no windows that start at $58 for four hours and goes up to $232 for a 24-hour period. According to news reports, Snowden is traveling with at least one other person, so it’s likely he’s booked in at least the economy two-person room, which starts at $70 for four hours and goes up to $283 for 24 hours.

If he’s lucky enough to be bankrolled by a leak-friendly sponsor with deep pockets (or, possibly, has enough loyalty points at the hotel), Snowden could be in the first-class room that starts at $110 for four hours and runs to $455 for 24 hours.

Scroll through the pictures above for a look at some windowless economy rooms that resemble rooms that Snowden hopes he won’t end up in.

snowden flight

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Tags: airport hotels, moscow, politics

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