The bond between James Stuart and Vejer de la Frontera is entering a new chapter. Vejer Town Council has agreed to award the co-founder and CEO of Grupo Califa the distinction of “Honorary Citizen of Vejer”, recognising a career spanning more than three decades and closely linked to the town. The distinction is due to be presented on 29 September, coinciding with World Tourism Day.
For the entire Califa team, this is particularly meaningful news. Behind the recognition lies a story that began long before our current hotels, restaurants and other spaces existed.
From Scotland to the Cádiz coast
Originally from Scotland, James first came to the Cádiz coast in the late 1980s. He was 25 years old, drawn by the surf and travelling in a yellow Volkswagen Beetle.
In 1988, after spending time in Los Caños de Meca, he made his way to Vejer looking for something as simple as somewhere to eat. That chance encounter with the town would eventually develop into a relationship that would shape much of his life.
Over time, Vejer ceased to be simply somewhere he was passing through. James settled in the area and began to discover a region whose tourism landscape was very different from the one we know today.
A project built together with Regli Álvarez
The story of Califa cannot be understood without Regli Álvarez, a Vejer native and co-founder of the project.
James and Regli began working together on initiatives related to active tourism. In 1993, they launched Discover Andalucía, organising, among other experiences, cycling tours through the local area for international travellers. That first project allowed them to recognise the potential of a Vejer that still had a very limited range of accommodation.
From that experience gradually emerged their own way of understanding tourism: discovering the region from within, restoring places with a history and offering hospitality rooted in its surroundings.
La Casa del Califa and the beginning of a new chapter
In 2001, James Stuart and Regli Álvarez opened La Casa del Califa in what had been James’s home on Plaza de España, becoming one of Vejer’s first boutique hotels. The project restored a historic house in the old town while preserving much of its architecture and many of its original features.
A year later came El Jardín del Califa, opened by the pair in June 2002 and over time becoming one of the group’s most recognisable venues.
From there, the project continued to grow, adding new accommodation, restaurants and experiences, always with Vejer and the Costa de la Luz as its principal setting.
A story closely linked to Vejer
Beyond the development of the business, James’s relationship with Vejer has been built over more than thirty years of everyday life in the town.
Travel, photography, architecture, gastronomy and the restoration of historic buildings have all formed part of a journey in which the region has been far more than simply a location. The world of Califa itself has evolved through this dialogue between Vejer, Andalucía, Morocco and the many places James has travelled to throughout his life.
That traveller’s perspective remains visible today in many of the group’s spaces, as well as in cultural projects such as The Story of Califa in 101 Objects, a series that brings together photographs, memories and objects to tell the smaller stories that have shaped Califa over the years.
Honorary Citizen of Vejer
Now, that relationship is receiving institutional recognition.
The Standing Committee of Vejer’s Local Tourism Council has agreed to award James Stuart the distinction of Honorary Citizen of Vejer, recognising his connection with the municipality and a professional career developed largely from Vejer.
The recognition also comes at a particularly significant moment for Califa, as we approach 25 years of a project that James and Regli have built together and which has always grown in close connection with the town, its people, its culture and its approach to hospitality.
At Grupo Califa, we would like to congratulate James on a distinction that fills us with pride and which we also see as recognition of all these years of shared commitment to Vejer.
Congratulations, James. And thank you, Vejer.
