Rough Around the Edges, but Fantastic Location
First of all, yes, The Milford is under renovations. The hallways are exposed pipes and humidity. Yes, the rooms are small. Sure, the elevators are a bit slow, but the theater showing our play was directly behind this place, so all is forgiven. 
The Milford is the perfect location to see most of Manhattan. We planned on going uptown to the Guggenheim, Central Park, etc. on day one, and downtown to the memorial, Little Italy, Macy's, and the New York City Public Library on day two, so this was the place to stay. Close to theaters, right off of Times Square, and near subway stations. Perfect. It's even close to the pier where you take the twilight harbor cruise (which I highly recommend). This was my second trip to Manhattan, so I've seen Lady Liberty and Ellis Island, therefore those were not on the itinerary, but we saw everything else on our lists, complete with a trip to the top of the Empire State, 30 Rock, and the mother-ship itself, Tiffany on 5th. The Milford was located right in the middle, so getting around the city was easy and fast. We were even able to walk there from Penn Station with our luggage. Sure, it was a bit clunky and late at night, but it was doable. 
Those who read my reviews know I am insane when it comes to hotel ice availability. Not all floors of The Milford have an ice machine, but they are randomly located throughout the hotel. Just call the front desk for an ice machine near you. The rooms don't have refrigerators, so I made a trip at night and in the morning to keep my diet sodas cool. A bit inconvenient, but I'm not the one who had to see me wandering the halls in my pajamas, so hey, what can you do?
A somewhat odd issue was the iHome (iPod clock and dock) between the beds. I thought, 'Yay!" until I saw that it wasn't plugged in since there were no plugs on that wall at all. The only plugs were located on the opposite wall as the beds and one (in a really weird place) in the bathroom. Charging phones was easy, but using them as clocks was not. The Milford was a bit European in its idiosyncrasies, but again, location is key.
Once the renovations are done, this hotel will be a bit more relaxing to decompress after a long day of schlepping up and down the streets of NYC, but now, this is the place to stay if you plan on just using the facilities for a bed and a shower like us.