I'm going to be in Thailand for 9 nights in early Feb. I haven't been before and was wanting some advice as to what I can see in that time. Would like to start and end in Bangkok. Any tips?

What are your interests? How much is your budget for hotels? Your question is too open ended and vague for us to really give you any help so you need to give us more information. One thing I can say is, for nine nights, I would concentrate on Bangkok for 5 nights Maybe 3 at the beginning and 2 at the end) and four nights somewhere else. Where depends on what you want to do and see. Are you interested in beaches or culture?

Ok - there's two of us and wouldn't want to spend more than £30 each on accommodation per night. Ideally I'd like to spend first two nights in Bangkok and then one night there at the end of the trip, which would leave 6 days and nights to do other things. I am interested in both culture and beach so I guess my question is, can you do both in such a short space of time?

I personally wouldn't recommend it. It's too little time in Bangkok. Bangkok has so much to offer. Many of us on this forum love BKK and go there over and over again and never get bored. I'm assuming the you mean 60 pounds per night on hotels if you are sharing a room. I would stay on the river although most hotels are out of your price range. If you can splurge just a bit, the Marriott Resort on the river would be a good choice, as would be the Royal Orchid Sheraton. February is high season however so these hotels will be more than at other times of the year. I always stay at the Peninsula which is always in the US $200+ range so I can't really advise on less expensive places. Others on this board can though. A good place to start is http://www.huahin.20m.com/ and
http://sawadee.com/

These will have less expensive options.

If you want beach, Phuket is nice. I've been to Phuket and it's very beautiful but I'm not a beach person so I wouldn't return there. Another is Koh Samui.

For culture, I would go to either Chiang Rai/Golden Triangle or Chiang Mai. I like Chiang Rai better but that's a personal perference. From either one, you can do treks (day treks or longer), visit elephant camps and both are close to beautiful countryside and hill tribes. Chiang Mai is Thailand's second largest city but I don't think it has the spark of BKK but others really love it. If you're interested in crafts, Chiang Mai would be a good choice.

Around Chiang Rai is the Golden Triangle and there are several resorts there. One that most people like is the Anatara but there are cheaper options.

I would not do both a beach and another place. With only 9 nights, I would do BKK and one other. Thailand needs months, probably years to properly explore. I've been there 5 times and have barely scratched the surface.

Laurie is right. Focus on BKK and spend most of your time there. If $50(US) is your limit, you can try priceline for 3 and 4 star hotels in BKK. You could try for 2 nights, see what you get and if you like, try again. If you want a short beach getaway, you can try Hua Hin, which is quiet, or Pattaya, which is very honky-tonk. Both are easily drivable from BKK and you won't lose much time. If you're willing to spring for airfare, Phuket will definitely have something in your price range. If Laurie is right and you are willing to go to $100(US) (I'm too lazy to find the pound sign on my keyboard) you can stay at wonderful hotels that far exceed what you can get in Europe or the US for anywhere near that price.