Yes, Thailand is no longer as cheap as it used to be. The bargains are still out there, in dining and accommodation but one just has to look harder for them. Tonight for example we're off to out favorite "khao-tom" restaurant. We'll have the usual: a tomyum fish, a couple of stir-fried vegi dishes, another fish dish (probably a yum) plus 2 or 3 places of steamed rice and 2 or 3 big cold beers. The bill averages out at 300 Bt, that's about AUD$10 for a meal for two, with beer. Outstanding value and really fresh tasty food.
Last time we went to Pattaya for a weekend we stayed at the Apex, it's getting a bit run down now, but for 500Bt we get an AC room, cable TV, hot water, a swimming pool, plus room service, downstairs is a breakfast & dinner buffet, and the location is dead central.
But I also notice a much higher cost of living now compared to previous years. As I said the bargains are still around, just less and less of them these days.