How old are the "kids"? Are the "kids" going to the bars, too?

I hope you'll hear from someone more familiar with the area than I. However, my son and I stayed at the Comfort Inn in Westport last Thursday when we were visiting my aunt in the hospital. There are two huge hospitals right there and others in the area. We certainly saw a lot of hotels/motels. But my impression was of scattered areas of restaurants, stores, etc interspersed (spelling?) with very residential areas. We were very happy with the Comfort Inn and glad that we didn't have any trouble finding a place to eat when we left the hospital late in the evening. And it probably wouldn't be a bad base from which to explore St. Louis. But, from what I saw of the area, I wouldn't think of it as a "destination" for pleasure travel.

The "kids" range from 20 years to 3 years old. They obviously won't be participating in the bar aspect of the evening only dinner (if I can help it

Does anyone know if this area is still alive with entertainment or not?

From what I know of Westport, it's not exactly walking distance to sights. Try the Clayton area for more entertainment, restaurants, shops, and a more central location. Or the Central West End, if you want to be closer to town, with access to shops and entertainment. The Chase Park Plaza is a high-end place there.

Westport is a collection of bars and resturants in one area all in walking distance of each other. Other than that there is nothing else around. I view it is a bar area for west county so you dont have to drive downtown.

The Westport area is fine but if you are looking for things to do in the downtown area, or for ease of seeing a ballgame, Westport probably wouldn't work too well because its farther away. You would have to do a few interstate switches to get downtown from Westport. Its not hard but can be a hassle with trafic. There are quite a few restaurants and bars, and the hotels look fine (I have never stayed at any of them because I live in the area) but there really isn't a whole lot to do there.

If you don't want to stay in the city itself, I would probably suggest somewhere a little more convenient. Someone mentioned Clayton, which would be a good choice. There are a number of great restaurants within walking distance, and its an easy 5-10 minute interstate drive into the city. You may also want to check out the Central West End as well, which is very close to downtown. Although this area is probably better for adults (great bars) there are some good restaurants.

There are also some fine hotels downtown that have pools and are within walking distance to some restaurants and riverfront sights and Busch stadium. You may want to check Hampton Inn, Drury Plaza, or the Westin.

Tracy

I suggest finding a hotel in or near The Plaza. Lots of restaurants and shops and within walking disttnace of one of the great museums of the midwest.