So after reviewing, buying and installing my fair share of smart lighting solutions over the years, I can confidently say Philips Hue deserves its position as the most well regarded of them all.

While they've recently added quite a few devices, Hue still isn't the biggest range. And it's definitely one of the most expensive. But when it comes to smart gadgetry, there's really only one thing that matters; reliability.

When you want it on, it needs to turn on. Even more importantly for lighting, when it's off, it needs to stay off. When it comes to preset routines and colour effects, you don't want to have to have a degree in quantum optics to be able to set it.

And that's what Hue seems to nail every time. Or so I thought...

I have to admit, I'd completely brushed over what the Hue Twilight truly is. I thought it was basically just a bedside lamp with a Hue smart bulb in it. But from the moment I took it out of the box, I was immediately impressed by how much more it has to offer - even before I turned it on.

Firstly, whether you go for white or black, the lamp itself is styley - in a low-key, subtle, retro sci-fi sort of a way. I like how curvy and rounded it is. I like how natural the cork-like base feels and it's helpful that the head of the lamp can rotate to different angles.

Why is that latter feature so important?

Because it turns out the back of the Twilight is essentially a second device altogether; I was pleasantly shocked to discover a Hue Play wall washer set into the rear panel. I recently reviewed the wall washer and found it to be a fine example of Philips Hue's unique ColorCasting ability, using overlapping LEDs to create that trademark gradient effect which makes them so perfect as backlights synced with your TV or computer monitor.

I also found the wall washers made fabulous feature lights to highlight your favourite plants, sculptures or even items of furniture around the house.

The genius of building one into the back of the Twilight sleep and wake-up light is it makes the ceiling lights in your bedroom redundant - particularly at bedtime when it's widely accepted exposure to overly bright, 100W bulbs just before bed can faff about with your natural circadian rhythms and make it difficult to drift off.

Conversely, the light emitted from the back of the Twilight is much more subtle and soothing, indirectly reflecting off the wall in whatever colour and brightness you set it to.

This is so brilliant, because often, just one or two bedside lights alone aren't enough to see your way around the rest of the room while you're carrying out your bedtime routine - be that tying your hair up, letting it down, choosing the right socks for tomorrow - whatever.

Now, thanks to the Hue Twilight, the soft light projected onto the walls behind and beside my bed provides all the ambient illumination I need.

Of course, being Philips Hue, there are infinite combinations of colours and animated themes you can set either the bedside spot, the rear wall washer, or both to - including cosy, flickering candle light.

All this can be controlled through the Hue app, or via the virtual home assistant of your choice. Samsung's much maligned Bixby has recently benefitted from a major overhaul and I've found it now works pretty well controlling Hue devices via SmartThings.

Helpfully, there are two actual physical buttons on top of the Twilight - the "Dot" and "Hue" buttons, which can be assigned to a variety of different functions, not just on and off - although in the middle of the night, that can be pretty helpful too.

Not sure why these buttons had to be made of that certain kind of rubber that seems to attract dust and debris more than any other surface known to man, but at least they're there.

Specifically tied to the name of the device, you can also use it to wake yourself up or actively help slip yourself into a slumber. There's a preset "Wake-Up" routine that mimics the natural sunrise, in an effort to prise your eyes open gently as the light slowly intensifies, supposedly a more calming visual alternative to the sound of a blaring alarm.

At the other end of the day there's "Go-To-Sleep" automation that can be fired off with the press of a button. This immediately dims and softens both lights and continues to do so over a duration of your choosing (the default 10 minutes seems to work for me). At the end of that time, complete darkness descends and I find myself quite naturally finishing with my book and drifting off.

If you prefer a slight nightlight - or perhaps you're thinking of using this in a child's room - Philips Hue is definitely the way to go; not only is it capable of bright, bright whites but it can dim down to the softest of comforting glows.

Ironically though, I quickly ran into a problem which did the exact opposite. Night after night - in the middle of the night - the Hue Twilight would flick on for a few seconds, blasting the room with searing bright light, costing me, and far more importantly, the Domestic Manager, precious sleep and causing serious nocturnal consternation.

After several similar rude awakenings I was about ready to yank the thing out of the wall and chuck it in the bin. Meanwhile, Domestic Manager appeared to be considering the same fate for the guy who'd installed the thing in the first place. Gulp.

Then, after a lot of Googling and some intensive AI consultation, I figured it out. It wasn't the Twilight's fault at all - or indeed anything to do with Philips Hue. Evil Alexa was to blame.

Because I'd linked the Hue Twilight with my Amazon Alexa account, it was now subject to a "feature" of Alexa's called "Hunches". Unbeknownst to me, I'd enabled Hunches which gave Alexa the power to do things like turn off all the lights if it thinks everyone's asleep.

Trouble is, what happens when you send an on/off command to a light that's already off?

You got it.

Apparently, there's also another helpful setting called, "Away Lighting" which will turn lights on and off at random if Alexa thinks there's nobody home. This has also been causing issues with other smart light users.

So just to clear that up; All Alexa's fault, not Hue's. And nothing that couldn't be solved with a deep dive into the settings menu of the Alexa app.

That colab confusion aside, I love this lamp. Again, like every other Hue product I've tried (and usually, ultimately owned) the Twilight does what its told, when it's told and even better, helps me get a good night's rest. And what wouldn't you pay for a decent sleep?

Click here for more information and pricing on the Philips Hue Twilight sleep and wake-up light.