I LOVE my polartecs! I have two full body suits and two hooded vests. I can comfortably dive for 60 ish minutes in water down to around 21-22C in just the vest and suit. If it's colder than that, I throw on a 3mm over the top and stay toasty to about 19C.
They are actually negatively buoyant when wet (you probably won't notice it, but they will sink if they go overboard...experience here) and retain a ton of water back on deck, so you'll want to wring them out so they dry faster. Once you do that they dry pretty quickly.
Mine are called sharkskin and are made by Extreme here in Australia. A search should provide something similar and your instructor should be able to tell you what brand he is using to get you started.
They don't suit everyone, but I can't imagine having to dive without mine now. Been using them for over eight years.
Pretty durable, but depends on the type of diving you do as to how long they will last - same as any suit.