The Central West End has a few antique shops along with some other stores and some places to eat. Cherokee street is not in the best part of town and only has the antique stores: nothing else. Old Town St. Charles has a lot of anitique shops.

Can't tell you anything about Home Dec. Collection.

There is a very good selection of restaurants in the Westport area.

Tha casino in St. Charles is the newest and the biggest in the area. On some Friday and Saturday nights it's almost too busy. Had to wait 30 minutes for an open spot playing blackjack last weekend. Harrahs isn't quite as big and new but is still pretty good.

Thanks Dweebe for the information. I'll do a little research on the casino in St. Charles. Maybe we can hit the St. Charles antiques AND the casino in one trip.

Anyone else have any input?

Given all that you are interested in doing while in the St. Louis area, I would suggest that you stay in the St. Charles, MO area. (dweebe's information on the various areas you mentioned is right on.) St. Charles would offer you everything you are looking for, all right together.

The casino dweebe referred to is the Ameristar Casino. It's huge and a pretty nice environment. And it is very, very close to all the antiquing, dining and other interesting shopping in "Old Town" St. Charles. (We're talking walking distance.) The Ameristar has about 7 restaurants and a couple of lounges, in addition to a huge casino...but the property has no onsite lodging. There are, however, hotels very near the casino. The following might help you out:

www.ameristarcasinos.com/stcharles

Comfort Suites (the closest hotel)
636-949-0694

St. Charles Motel (formerly Baymont Inn, also very close)
636-946-6936

Best Western (close, too)
636-916-3000

If you would prefer a casino with a hotel onsite, I can also recommend Harrah's Casino, which is not in St. Charles, but very close to St. Charles in a development called "Earth City", just off Hwy 70. Harrah's doesn't have as many restaurant options as the Ameristar, but it is a very nice property.

www.harrahs.com/our_casinos/stl/

Lodging in St. Louis is fairly reasonable. You should be able to find a decent price without going through priceline.com. But if that is your preference, try selecting "St. Charles" and "St. Louis Northwest" as your two hotel search area options (if the St. Charles area is what you decide on.)

If you decide on the West Port Plaza area, just about any hotel there should be a safe bet. There used to be some cool shops in West Port Plaza, and I assume that's still true. (West Port Plaza is a shopping, dining and business center. Not a lot of antiquing, though.) There is a comedy club in West Port Plaza, called the Funny Bone. That might be something interesting to do.

St. Louis is pretty much a "driving" town. (We don't think anything about driving half an hour to get just about anywhere.) So, unless you've got a car with you or plan to rent one, I'd vote for Ameristar & Old Town St. Charles.

Hope this helps. Enjoy.

I second,or is that third, St Charles! You will love walking the town, visiting the shops, and taking in the history of Lewis and Clark. This is where they started their westward adventure. There is a L&C museum there that is interesting. Ask for directions to a replica of the keel boat they traveled on. Also in St Charles they have a tour trolley of the town that I found informative. Don't know if it runs all year, we were there in the summer. If you have time and have never been to Grant's Farm, it is wonderful and free.