not a fan at all of HDR, always looks unreal. besides spending a little bit more time on a shot, some filters , you can get an even better shot than going HDR!
my 2c,
Like Kobus said, HDR is to compensate the DSLR sensor's tendency to clip the highlights (white) and shadows (black): Dynamic Range and therefore loosing details in those extremes.
The cartoon like results, or the fakeness appearance of HDR photography is only up to the user. Like all post-processing work in photography, some abuse it while others successfully apply the 'less is more' principle. Since we deal with visual art, some do amazing work because beside their technique they have a good taste in things visual.
I got a D800, expensive camera, but it really performs in landscape for Dynamic Range. But I still do composite of 2 or 3 photos when there are too much variation in highlight and shadow.