You can’t get much more comfortable than Villa Silk Cotton in St. Thomas. An elegant eyebrow on Mafolie Hill overlooking Charlotte Amalie Harbor, the Villa was created by Scott and Carol Schenck.

From the pool and sun deck there’s a 180-degree panorama: of crenellated green hills floating on cobalt-blue water, where the cruise ships begin making steam as the cocktail hour gets underway. They’ll exit the harbor with the sun; long lines of twinkling lights voyaging into the dusk.

Named for the huge silk cotton (kapok) tree next to the deck, the Villa combines privacy with service. Architecturally, the Villa is exceptional. It's built of 'blue bitch', a very hard volcanic stone that was used by the Danes to create many of the island’s historic buildings. The Villa is very wide but not deep from front to back. All of the living spaces open on to the pool, which overlooks the harbor. Between the rooms and the pool deck are a series of arches, the opening of which can be covered by screens or electrically operated shutters. At the touch of a button, you can shut out the world or open the whole house to that killer view.

“The experience of having your days ending floating at cloud level above the harbor, sipping on something cold and frosty while someone grills fish just the way you like it is way beyond relaxing.

The heart of Silk Cotton is its expansive Great Room, encompassing individual, well-appointed areas for conversation, formal dining, media, exercise, and a gourmet kitchen. For comfort or privacy, the Great Room can be fully screened or shuttered by an on-demand electronic push button system. It is framed by native stone archways onto the sunny 16 by 45 foot pool and its spacious tiled deck.

Savor drinks each evening on your own pool terrace overlooking the ocean, or gather with friends or family around a dinner table in a home that you’ve made your very own for the week. After all, it’s said there’s nothing so sweet as living the tropical life.

The spacious kitchen surrounding the large service island is fully equipped with dishwasher, ice makers and espresso machine.

Just off the Great Room, in the west wing of the villa, is an intimate and romantic king bedroom suite. The next king bedroom suite is located 12 steps directly below and is accessed by a private staircase off the pool deck. The secluded bi-level king suite (5th bedroom) located in the east wing of the villa is available for larger parties and features an additional two platform twin for sleeping or relaxing on its upper level, an alfresco shower, plus its own private entrance. (Available only when full villa is rented.)

The majestic stone archways of the Great Room give way to the spacious tiled terrace surrounding the 45' X 16' pool. Over 2300 square feet of sun decks afford a stunning view of the harbor below.

Just steps below the pool level out of sight of the main house is a second smaller deck for sunning with a little more privacy.