There are two of us (college age women) traveling to Barcelona for the weekend in mid-April. I'm having trouble looking for hostels because I don't know which areas of Barcelona to avoid and which areas are desirable to stay in! Can anyone please help point us in the right direction? Thank you!

Hola!

I traveled to BCN in December last year, and stayed at the Hostal Opera. It was really close to the northern part of the Rambla, very clean and safe. Site at www.hostalopera.com
Price was 58 Euros for a double with bath, if I remember correctly.
Actually I posted a trip report on this forum. I do not know, how to link that into this reply (the nerd that I am when in comes to computers), but you should find it, if you search for "Barcelona trip report" in the forum.

It was my first trip to BCN, and I have been told, that you should avoid the El Raval quarter at night.
It is a gorgeous city, enjoy your trip! Feel free to contact me for further questions!

From Prussia with Love,

la calma

I live directly in front of Gothic Point hostel. I always hear it recommended and it looks really good. Be very wary when you guys (gals, sorry) are out at night because its spring and the local theives are attacking people once again. They aren`t violent (usually) but 2-3 times a week I`m woken in the middle of the night by screams of some girl (in american english) screaming that they just took her bag. Also, don`t give money to the poor here either, I`ve seen them with cell phones when noone is looking