When I went last year I stayed in this place:
http://www.deevanapatong.com/
it was a 5 min walk to the beach and 10 min walk to majority of the bars...aka lady boy area
The place was ok
I think we paid at $250 or so for 5 nights (on Expedia)
we got free airport pick up/drop off and like breakfest + drinks and some other stuff...a package to ride elephants if I remember straight
Overall not a bad deal but I am sure there is better to be found...
To comment on the type of people that stayed here though was dating couples or people on their honeymoon...average age was late 20's to mid 30's with Australians/Euro's making up the mix....when I was there though we made friends this this Syrian couple who were on their honeymoon and that made the trip pretty great to chill with them