Now that at least looks like a good sell on using HDR. I am in the very very very small minority group (actually, I'm in a lot of those small groups, like the 'Folks who don't like Star Wars' group, and the 'no rides that go in circles' group) who can't get into HDR. It seems it's like today's equivalent to the hula hoop - everyone's doing it - but I just don't find myself drawn to the HDR look at all.
Every once in a while, one comes along that doesn't try to look quite so vibrantly fake and eerily luminescent...like yours above. In this case, the HDR blend was kept reaonably low and works more as a realistic highlight and shadow control tool.
I'd actually consider using HDR for this type of processing every once in a while!