Homewood Suites by Hilton Pleasant Hill Concord

Marriott's all-suite extended-stay twin next door to the Homewood: full kitchens, free breakfast and a pool.

A dependable booth-and-bloomin'-onion steakhouse where kids get their own Joey menu.

Concord's full-service Hilton in the Diamond Blvd corridor: outdoor pool, big rooms, and a location five minutes from Concord Community Park and the Pixieland gate.

Concord's playground-plus-spray-park combo: a traditional climbing structure with a free city spray park running Memorial Day through late September, with separate zones for toddlers and bigger kids. Kids rotate between structure and spray jets all afternoon.

Grill-at-the-table Korean BBQ, with the meat cooking in front of the kids and banchan to graze on.

A burger-and-shake spot built around kids from the name down: kid-sized everything, shakes as the headline act and a room designed for families.